25 Movies Guys Are Allowed To Cry At

Director: Mel Gibson
Stars: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Brian Cox, Sean Lawlor

Let everyone else focus on Mel Gibson’s recent descent into nearly Gary Busey-like insanity—we’d rather celebrate Crazy Mel’s cinematic output in the 1980s and ’90s, particularly Braveheart, his magnum opus of both directing and acting. Playing the legendary Scottish knight William Wallace, Gibson holds his own on the battlefield, anchors a romance that’s not groan-inducing, and garners the empathy necessary to sell the film’s tragic ending.

After he’s sold out and captured by his English enemies, Wallace is sentenced to public death, but not before he’s brutally tortured in a series of hard-to-stomach scenes. Ever the defiant badass, Wallace never kisses the king’s feet and begs for absolution, and his pride leads him to an outdoor beheading. His final moment, in which Wallace sees his dead wife and yells “Freedom!” right before his dome’s lopped off, could make any macho man weep.

Director: Frank Darabont
Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Sam Rockwell, James Cromwell, Barry Pepper, Patricia Clarkson

Rightfully so, Stephen King is universally recognized as horror fiction’s reigning champion, a well-deserved reputation that tends to overshadow his unique gift for heartbreaking drama. One of King’s saddest works is The Green Mile, the 1996 novel about a wrongly convicted, behemoth inmate who possesses telekinetic abilities and wins over one of the prison’s corrections officers, Paul Edgecomb.

Directed by King’s go-to adapter Frank Darabont, the film version is one of those rare book-to-screen translations that bests its source material. As John Coffey, the “gentle giant” inmate, Michael Clarke Duncan is a marvel, nailing the character’s difficult balance of sweet tenderness and underlying torment. Along with an equally strong Hanks, who plays the officer, Duncan gives The Green Mile’s finale a poignant jolt: John, having cleared himself of his rape-and-murder charges to Paul through psychic transference, opts to die rather than be set free.

In the electric chair, John requests that Paul leave the traditional black hood off, since the big guy’s afraid of the dark. Unlike most other Stephen King works, The Green Mile uses such unlit terror to make us get all verklempt, not shook.

Director: George Stevens
Stars: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon De Wilde, Jack Palance

Tony Montana. Don Corleone. Shane? That’s right, the titular character in director George Stevens’ classic western Shane ranks amongst cinema’s all-time great G’s. It’s all in the way Shane, played by Alan Ladd, lives by the unofficial cowboy code.

Drifting into a quaint Wyoming town, he befriends a mother and son, constantly treating the former with old-school chivalry and giving the latter tons of guidance. And when he’s shot in a gunfight while protecting the family, Shane does the honorable thing: He rides off into the sunset so that he can die on his own, not in the front of the woman and young boy who now love him. Noble but gangster.

Director: Gus Van Sant
Stars: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Stellan Skarsgard, Minnie Driver, Cole Hauser, Casey Affleck

Give us credit here: We’re openly admitting to getting all teary-eyed from a Ben Affleck movie. No, not Daredevil, though with that garbage we flirted with crying in the name of Marvel Comics fandom. Go ahead, diss away. But do us a favor and admit that the first time you saw Good Will Hunting, the climactic exchange between Robin Williams and Matt Damon achieved maximum impact.

It’s at that point when Damon’s character, genius everyman Will Hunting, finally lets his guard down and reveals the abuse he experienced as a child, which Williams’ psychiatrist, Sean Maguire, relates to, being a former abuse victim himself. Sean repeats, “It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.” Will, unable to keep up his tough guy façade, eventually starts weeping; thanks to Damon’s stellar performance, the tears are justified.

Director: John Schlesinger
Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, John McGiver

Traditionally, the “buddy film” operates on an accessible, pleasant, and warm-hearted playing field—look no further than 50/50 as an example. But director John Schlesinger’s classic Midnight Cowboy is a special case, depicting a close friendship between two men against a seedy New York City backdrop full of prostitutes and drugs.

The characters themselves aren’t exactly likeable on paper. Jon Voight plays a cold-hearted gigolo, while Dustin Hoffman one-ups him in ruthlessness as a jerky conman. It’s an unlikely camaraderie, but the two guys form a strong bond, telling each other about their dark childhoods. Eventually, though, Hoffman gets fatally sick, which causes Voight to rob and beat his sexually hungry customers in order to pay for his friend’s treatment.

Midnight Cowboy’s final image, that of Voight’s arm around a dead Hoffman on a bus, corresponds with the film’s overall darkness, but it’s also more affecting than any other “buddy film.”

Director: Frank Capra
Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell

It’s A Wonderful Life should be required viewing for anyone who hates more than they appreciate. James Stewart plays a mentally beaten guy who’s weighed down by financial debts and a general displeasure toward his existence; it isn’t until an angel descends from the clouds and walks Stewart through his personal timeline that he realizes just how fortunate of a guy he is truly is.

Director Frank Capra's classic ends with an iconic final scene: Stewart races through his town in jubilation, returns home, and smothers his family with hugs and kisses alongside a Christmas tree. Undeniably mushy, It’s A Wonderful Life overcomes any schmaltz through its strong acting and unavoidably effective sentiments.

Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Stars: Tom Hanks, Mare Winningham, Craig T. Nelson, Reginald VelJohnson

For whatever its worth, Turner & Hooch is by far the best cop-and-his-canine-partner movie out there. The premise is admittedly goofy: An uptight police investigator (Tom Hanks) teams up with a slobbering, disobedient Dogue de Bordeaux, a doggy witness to its owner’s murder, to apprehend an unidentified criminal. The humor mainly comes from slapstick animal gags, such as Hooch tearing up the inside of Hanks’ car, or Hooch drooling all over Hanks’ CD collection and home entertainment center.

Somehow, though, within the flick’s rampant “That dog is crazy!” scenes, Turner & Hooch establishes a believably loving bond between owner and pooch. And when director Roger Spottiswoode’s action-comedy reaches its shoot-’em-up climax, Hooch gets hit by a fatal bullet and dies in Hanks’ arms.

How about some more hyperbole: Beasley the dog (Hooch) is one of the great canine actors of our time.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, Jay Baruchel, Mike Colter, Anthony Mackie

The obvious choice here would have been Rocky; we’re not going out like that. Nearly all of cinema’s inspirational boxing movies are designed to produce tears, but, once the film’s third act begins, Clint Eastwood’s superb Million Dollar Baby does so with an unstoppable force. All that precedes the finale is certainly uplifting; Hilary Swank plays a down-on-her-luck waitress who dreams of becoming a professional boxer, a dream that she sees through with the help of an old curmudgeon of a trainer (Eastwood).

Though he’s cold toward her at first, Eastwood’s character quickly warms up and becomes a father figure, which Swank needs after she’s hospitalized during a pro bout and isn’t visited by any family members except money-grubbers. As her situation worsens, Swank asks Eastwood to help her die in peace; sneaking into her hospital room one night, he gives Swank a lethal injection and calls her “my darling, and my love.” Cue the eye flooding.

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Stars: Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Ellen Burstyn, Marlon Wayans

It’s not a slight to label Requiem For A Dream as one of the most depressing movies ever made—a movie about the self-imposed destruction of four drug addicts isn’t supposed to be uplifting. Darren Aronofsky certainly didn’t so think, either; at every turn, the enormously gifted director puts the film’s downbeat tone on front street, no more so than during Requiem’s dizzying and relentless final act. With an alarming franticness, Aronofsky employs all kinds of editing trickery to disorient the viewer beyond belief, showing all four characters’ ends in one alternating chunk.

So where does the sadness come into play? In every scene, really, but especially in Marlon Wayans’ final shot. Locked up in a South Carolina prison cell, Wayans’ character, NYC native Tyrone, curls up into a fetal position on his uncomfortable jail bed, a bad look heightened by his drug withdrawal. As if the sight of a hopeless Tyrone wallowing in despair isn’t enough, Aronofsky intersperses the silhouette of Tyrone’s mother into the frame, with a little Ty on her lap. It’s a moment of such overwhelming regret and shame for Wayans’ Requiem counterpart that crying like a mama’s boy is warranted.

Director: Gabriele Muccino
Stars: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Thandie Newton, Kurt Fuller

Prior to The Pursuit Of Happyness, Will Smith made a blockbuster career out of playing super-cool heroes prone to snappy one-liners, wack-ass rap theme songs, and the accompaniment of expensive visual effects. Which is a large reason why Big Willie Style’s dramatic shift into a subdued humanism and evocative vulnerability for Happyness was such an unexpected move, but one that paid off in spades, earning him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

And, frankly, he should have won both. Smith’s turn as real-life “rags to riches” character Chris Gardner is an emotional knockout, assisted by the natural father/son chemistry he has with little Jaden, his actual kid and on-screen seed. Immensely sympathetic, Smith’s Gardner withstands a series of financial blows and ego-bruises, sinking deeper and deeper into poverty while his son does his best to not lash out against their dire situation.

It’s an inspirational biopic, though, so, naturally, it all works out; when Gardner lands a plush job as a stockbroker, signaling an end to his poor man’s lifestyle, he cries uncontrollably and hugs young Jaden—you don’t need to have a kid of your own to do the same.

Director: Ridley Scott
Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou

When guys reflect upon Ridley Scott’s violent epic Gladiator, the praise is typically aimed at the film’s kick-ass fight scenes, barbaric duels that posit Russell Crowe’s Maximus as the ultimate heroic badass. And we’re not here to argue the merits of Gladiator’s awesome brutality—like many of you, viewings of the flick make us want to restart our frequently abandoned gym routines, though food and liquor always take unfortunate precedence.

Aside from the macho force, though, Gladiator never fails to pound our eye sockets into teary submission in that final scene, when a dying Maximus reunites with his wife and son in the afterlife. If not for the character’s likeability earned through awesome dismemberment of foes with his sword, that closing moment wouldn’t register with as much feeling as it does—it’s not cool to cry while working out, right?

Director: Brad Bird
Stars: Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, Jennifer Aniston, Cloris Leachman, Christopher McDonald, M. Emmet Walsh

In the age of Pixar, many great animated flicks go sadly unheralded, and there’s perhaps no such movie as underrated as 1999’s The Iron Giant. Not unlike Steven Spielberg’s E.T., the Brad Bird-directed family pic tells the story of a little boy and his alien best friend, in this case a massive robot who’s crash-landed on Earth from an unknown planet.

The Iron Giant takes a liking to Superman comics, which gives Bird’s film an obvious correlation to the grandiose superhero genre; the big metal guy hates deadly weapons, so when a missile is shot towards his friend’s hometown, he leaps into the air, intercepts it, and explodes into little bitty pieces as a result. What’s most fascinating about The Iron Giant is that the title character is voiced by none other than Vin Diesel, meaning that, yes, a Vin Diesel movie will make you cry, and we’re not talking sobs of “How can movies be this bad?” that come from enduring The Pacifier.

Director: Jonathan Levine
Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston, Philip Baker Hall, Matt Frewer

For the bulk of its running time, 50/50 makes well-intentioned light of cancer. As the afflicted main character, Joseph Gordon-Levitt internalizes his anger and bewilderment, which leaves room for best friend Seth Rogen to lighten the mood quite a bit, dropping one-liners galore and scoring his buddy some ass after convincing Gordon-Levitt to use his disease as a magnet for sympathetic women. 50/50 wisely doesn’t lampoon cancer in any way—the intent is to keep the proceedings grounded in reality, and, yes, sick people laugh, too.

But sick people also grieve, and look at uncertain surgery with profound trepidation, and that’s the source of director Jonathan Levine’s film’s cinematic green light. It’s a sequence inside a hospital, with Gordon-Levitt seconds away from surgery and in the company of his scared-to-death mother and Alzheimer’s-ridden father. They, and the audience, know that JGL’s character might not leave the operating room with a pulse; in reaction to Gordon-Levitt’s remarkable acting, it’s almost impossible not well up as much as his fictional mother does.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall, Embeth Davidtz

You’d have to be made of stone to not feel the dramatic force of Schindler’s List, arguably Steven Spielberg’s towering masterpiece. Centered in one of mankind’s darkest events, the Steven Zallian-written film recounts the true story of a German businessman, Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), who opens a cutlery factory, hires Jewish concentration camp prisoners for no pay, and ultimately saves upwards of 1,100 prisoners from certain death at the hands of the Nazis.

At nearly three-and-a-half-hours long, Schindler’s List is a long haul, but one that’s totally worth the patience and, more importantly, the mental anguish. Spielberg doesn’t shy away from depicting the horrors of Nazi death camps; watching the black-and-white epic, it’s impossible to not ponder the evil that men can do, and, really, what’s sadder than the truths that spring from such questioning?

Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Ted Danson

Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg’s hard-hitting account of World War II’s pivotal D-Day, doesn’t skimp on the sentimental muscle. With a large ensemble of colorful characters, led by Tom Hanks’ resilient army captain, in tow, Spielberg levels the viewer with a series of visceral battle sequences, but also intricate characterization. And the central story is a knockout: Matt Damon plays a missing soldier whose three brothers have been killed in action, inspiring Hanks to lead a search-and-rescue mission to save one man, even though several will be killed in the process.

The conflicts of “Should many die to help one?” provide sufficient emotion, but the film’s book-ending flashes to modern times are its ripest suppliers of visual waterworks: Damon’s character, now an old man, brings his family to Hanks’ grave, a powerful image strengthened by the sight of an American flag and an evocative score. Saving Private Ryan is the ultimate “guy cry” flick for war survivors. Your vet grandfather doesn't stand a chance against its charms.

Director: Lee Unkrich
Stars: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn

Who doesn’t wish that they could be a kid again? Back in the days of Juicy Juice and Saturday morning cartoons, there wasn’t a care in the world—no bills to pay, girls to please, or jobs to devote one’s entire life to, only fun, toys, and coloring books. So once the realization sinks in that, sadly, it’s no longer deemed “cool” to stage mini-wars with G.I. Joe action figures inside a bathtub, it’s not easy to accept. And that’s what the amazing Toy Story 3 affirms, just through the eyes of the neglected playthings.

In the huge franchise’s third entry, young Andy, the owner of toys Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), is a college-bound 17-year-old; he’s smart enough to understand that littering your dorm room with toys isn’t exactly an aphrodisiac, prompting Andy to leave all but Woody behind.

Watching Buzz and his inanimate cohorts grieve over their sudden lack-of-presence in Andy’s life brings to mind the viewer’s own toys of old. Imagine what they must be feeling whenever they see you have sexy times from the confines of your bedroom’s packed closet. The only ones that’d understand are Ken and Barbie, no doubt.

Director: Roberto Benigni
Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Guistino Durano

As strange as it sounds, Italian actor-filmmaker Robert Benigni’s Academy Award-nominated Life Is Beautiful is that rare kind of concentration camp story, one that’s actually quite funny. The humor comes from the imagination of Benigni’s character, Guido, a Jewish Italian who, along with his family, is sent to a camp during World War II; determined to keep the horrific truth away from his four-year-old son, Guido conceives an elaborate hoax in which he tells the boy that the camp is one big competition, with all present (guards included) trying to earn points to win a tank.

Life Is Beautiful isn’t really a comedy, though, yes, there are some successful moments of earnest levity. Yet, it’s ultimately an intensely sad ride, culminating with Guido’s death. The true sign of the film’s strength is that the audience’s resulting sobs are directed at Guido’s nobility, not his bloodied corpse.

Director: Isao Takahata
Stars: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara

Ask random strangers to cite the saddest cartoon ever and a common response would most likely be Bambi, because, you know, the deer croaks. But that’s the wrong answer. The correct one: the Japanese animated anti-war picture Grave Of The Fireflies, which, amidst a barrage of distressing violence, depicts the death of two little kids, Seita and Setsuko.

The young victims are siblings trying their hardest to survive firebombs and other war-torn devastation, and director Isao Takahata’s heavily lauded film uses their plight to shed light on the country’s overlooked WWII casualties: the innocents who paid for the volatile actions of their leaders. Grave Of The Fireflies makes you care about Seita and Setsuko through a gang of intimate character moments.

As a result, seeing their deceased spirits together once again in the afterlife at the film’s end is an impetus for joyous tears, a nice change of pace from the sadness-induced ones that’ll surface well before that moment. See, much rougher than a dead deer.

Director: Edward Zwick
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Cary Elwes, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Andre Braugher

War movies don’t get much better than director Edward Zwick’s Civil War drama Glory, though, for some inexplicable reason, we get the feeling that not enough people acknowledge the film with such distinction. It’s not always mentioned in the same breath as films like Saving Private Ryan, yet Zwick’s pitch-perfect flick does everything right: The characters are wonderfully humanized, the battle scenes are rousing, and the unavoidable tragedies pierce through the heart with a bayonet’s sharpness.

Matthew Broderick, in an effective bit of against-type casting, plays firm but fair Union Captain Robert Gould Shaw, who’s tasked with leading one of the United States Army’s first-ever units made up completely with African American soldiers, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

In his troop, Shaw comes across a wide array of tortured souls and misunderstood men, namely a thick-headed but misunderstood escaped slave, Trip (Denzel Washington), who endures a whipping that brings tears to his eyes and ours. Capt. Shaw is not his men's ideal friend, but he forges a strong bond with them, and when the entire crew is gunned down in Glory’s phenomenal climax, the emotional resonance is devastating.

Director: Buzz Kulik
Stars: James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Warden, Bernie Casey, Shelley Fabares

Widely considered to be the ultimate “guy cry” movie, the 1971 made-for-ABC movie Brian’s Song definitely earns its reputation. Billy Dee Williams stars as Chicago Bears great Gale Sayers, who made NFL history in the 1970s when he became roommates with white teammate Brian Piccolo (James Caan), marking the league’s first-ever interracial living arrangement. Paired together at a time when black-and-white friendships weren’t universally accepted, the Sayers/Piccolo connection was already inspirational before Piccolo guided Sayers through a career-threatening knee injury.

Brian’s Song shows their rehabilitation process, mining two guy-friendly themes in one: looking out for your boys, and athletic camaraderie. Once it’s time for Sayers to return the favor, though, director Buzz Kulik’s critically acclaimed drama throws a spiral right into men’s hearts—Piccolo begins wearing down from terminal cancer, leading to a finale that’s basically Beaches for men.

Director: Peter Jackson
Stars: Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black, Kyle Chandler, Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, Andy Serkis, Jamie Bell, Evan Parke

Everyone knows the tragic story of King Kong, the building-sized gorilla that’s discovered on a remote island, given an unphysical love interest in the form of a cute blond actress (in this case, Naomi Watts), and unkindly captured and brought to New York City, where fighter planes shoot it off the Empire State Building. It’s a staple for any genre head. So when Lord Of The Rings mastermind Peter Jackson remade the classic 1933 film (its second remake, mind you), the plot harbored no real surprises.

Unless you count emphasized romance and enhanced tragedy as unexpected additions. King Kong’s sadness is tough to resist once Kong climbs atop the Empire State and stares into Watts’ distraught eyes as bullets rip into his hairy body; moments earlier, Kong and his chick were playfully ice-skating in Central Park, a sequence that poignantly resonates.

Performed by motion capture kingpin Andy Serkis, Kong’s facial expressions convey immense heartache—you’ll wish that, somehow, the massive beast could just get the damn girl and live happily ever after. He doesn’t, of course, and Kong’s death in Jackson’s flick has enough gravitas to elicit water from any sensitive dude’s tear ducts.

Director: Pete Docter and Bob Peterson
Stars: Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, Delroy Lindo, John Ratzenberger

No matter how much Botox people inject into themselves, or how many dollars are dumped into plastic surgery procedures, there’s no escaping the truth: We’re all growing old, and, eventually, there will come a time when we have to reflect upon our lives.

One can only hope that his elder-year recollections are half as pleasant as those of Up main character Carl (voiced by Ed Asner), a curmudgeon who longs for his deceased wife, Ellie. In never-ending mourning, Carl finally breaks out of his woe-is-me funk thanks to an energetic Boy Scout, with whom Carl heads into the clouds on his home, a makeshift hot air balloon designed to fulfill his beloved’s dream of one day visiting Paradise Falls in a balloon.

Up is a Disney-Pixar movie, so, obviously, Carl makes it to Paradise Falls, in a touching climax that’s impactful despite its predictability. Much of the credit goes to a flashback montage that’s shown earlier into Up, a joyous, silent mini-movie that follows Carl’s relationship with Ellie from their pre-teen years all the way through her death by illness. It’s a triumph in emotionally powerful filmmaking, and more than enough to leave both older men and sensitive youngsters with damp eyes.

Director: David Anspaugh
Stars: Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Charles S. Dutton, Ned Beatty, Lili Taylor

Even former varsity lettermen and decorated all-stars can’t help but stand up and cheer for your boy Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger. Based on a true story, Rudy, one of sports cinema’s great underdog movies, follows Danny boy (played by Sean Astin), a shrimp of a Notre Dame fanatic with a resilient toughness and a steadfast desire to play football for his cherished Fighting Irish. He’s also an academic underachiever, however, so not only is Rudy the story of a puny nobody who becomes somebody on the Notre Dame pigskin field, it’s also an inspirational saga of a kid who busts his ass in the name of education.

But all anyone cares about is the football angle, of course, and, in that department, Rudy is a heart-beater. At every turn, Astin’s Rudy is dissuaded away from his dreams, humiliated by an ex-girlfriend, doubted by his family, and knocked the hell up on the practice field; yet, little man always gets back up. So when Rudy’s inevitable in-action moment comes during a Notre Dame game, with his wide-eyed family cheering in the stands, it’s euphoric for anyone who was ever picked last in gym class.

Director: Robert Stevenson
Stars: Fess Parker, Dorothy McGuire, Jeff York, Chuck Connors, Tommy Kirk

Warning to anyone who’s yet to see Old Yeller: If you’ve ever had to put down your family’s dog, or just plain old owned a dog, this classic tale of a boy and his beloved pooch is likely be your most harrowing and emotionally draining film-watching experience of all time. And to think, it’s actually a family movie.

Set in post-Civil War Texas, Old Yeller is the story of a young boy named Jim (Fess Parker) who befriends a stray Mastiff/Labrador Retriever mutt and, before long, they develop the best kind of friendship. So good, in fact, that Yeller plays the four-legged hero when a bear attacks Jim, and, again, when a rabid wolf does the same to Jim’s family.

In the second animalistic scrap, Yeller contracts rabies, forcing Jim to have to “put her down” himself, though not with the needles they use in modern-day veterinarian offices—he blows a hole through the canine with a shotgun. As he pulls the trigger, tears stream down poor Jimmy’s face—please believe, you’ll be right there with him.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton

You don’t have to be a science fiction nerd to rip through boxes of Kleenex while watching E.T. Anchored by one of the most endearing cinematic friendships imaginable, Steven Spielberg’s 1982 smash hit impacts like a Scud missile aimed right at the viewer’s heart, particularly guys who grew up feeling like outcasts. It just so happens that one-half of the flick’s BFF pair is an alien that wolfs down Reese’s Pieces and resembles a shriveled Planter’s Peanut man.

For E.T.’s entirety, the bond between the little spaceman and young Elliot (Henry Thomas) feels incredibly genuine; when E.T. uses his telekinetic powers to have Elliot kiss the little honey he’s been crushing on, for instance, you get the sensation that the interplanetary wingman truly wants his boy to get the girl. But then come the friend-blockers, a crew of government agents determined to capture E.T. and experiment on him.

Through the power of friendship, though, Elliot helps E.T. make it onboard his homeward bound flying saucer, but not before everyone’s favorite alien points to Elliot’s heart and reassures him with, “I’ll be right there.” If you’re not crying by the end of “there,” you’re lying.